Virginia Ballard was born in Charleston, West Virginia. Her parents immigrated to the United States from Scotland. In 1944, Ballard’s family moved to Richland, Washington where her father worked for DuPont.
After attending college, Ballard went to work for GE and Exxon Nuclear. Her last job before retirement was as executive secretary to the manager for Siemens. Ballard had two children, Bruce and Diane, with her husband Del.